MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court has mandated that all planning authorities incorporate a specific condition regarding adherence to “special safety control recommendations for working at heights during high-rise construction” when issuing development permissions for high-rise buildings, as per an expert committee’s report.
The state informed the court that directives were issued on August 20 to all municipal corporations and councils to ensure these recommendations are followed. This follows the court’s previous orders highlighting significant safety lapses, particularly regarding machinery such as suspended cranes used in high-rise construction projects.
The bench comprising Justices Girish Kulkarni and Manjusha Deshpande has established that failure to comply with these safety measures will be viewed as a violation of construction permits, potentially leading to criminal repercussions. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other authorities have been instructed to maintain strict oversight on high-rise projects. Moreover, any violations of the safety recommendations will result in immediate stop-work notices, emphasizing the utmost importance of human safety.
A writ petition was filed by Lokhandwala Residency Co-operative Housing Society Ltd in 2023 following the tragic deaths of two individuals due to a concrete slab collapse at a construction site in Worli. The court has expressed grave concern over inadequate safety measures that have caused loss of life and subsequently formed a committee that outlined essential safety protocols, now mandated as part of the permissions for high-rise constructions.
